Abstract: An air valve of a balancing jacket can be opened not only by a conventional driving cable located within the corrugated pipe of the balancing jacket, but also independently from the conventional driving cable by an auxiliary driving member integral or operationally connected with the valve element of an air valve and controlled by the diver directly with his hands and/or by a separate control member.

Abstract: A cathodic protection system for offshore structures includes an elongated electrode carrier, such as a pipe, with a plurality of sacrificial anodes attached, that is placed on the ocean floor and electrically connected to the structures to be protected. The system is particularly useful for retrofitting cathodic protection systems for offshore structures that have exceeded their expected life.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for deployment of mooring systems for buoyant marine structure such as mobile offshore drilling units (MODU's) and for connecting the same to the mooring lines thereof. An anchor handling vessel carries one or more anchors each having a deployment connection and a mooring connection and individually moves each anchor over its stern roller and deploys it to the sea bottom for installation. A handling line is disconnected by ROV from the deployment connection and is moved from the deployment connection to the mooring connection so as to become the main mooring line. Syntactic buoys are then mounted on the main mooring line for elevating it above the sea bottom for recovery. When MODU stationing is desired the anchor handling vessel then recovers the surface buoy and connects to the rig mooring line using a short section of mooring chain. A J-chaser stopper device is then installed in the mooring string and is connected to the mooring line of the MODU by a short section of chain.

Abstract: A tubular anchor includes a tubular member (1, 21) with a drilling head (2, 22) at one of its end, a load application element (3) extending along a portion of the tubular member opposite the one end, opening (5, 23) provided in a region of the drilling head. The tubular anchor also includes at least one, substantially cylindrical, hollow element (7, 24, 25) for receiving a mortar mass (4, 37, 38) and closed, at its opposite ends, with two displaceable pistons (8, 9; 31, 32, 33, 39), respectively, with one of the pistons being received in a piston-receiving region of the at least one mortar-mass receiving element and facing in a setting direction (S), (6, 35) and at least one through-opening (11, 34) spaced from a free end of the piston-receiving region (6, 35) by a distance (a, b) corresponding at least to a length (l) of the piston (8, 32) received therein.

Abstract: A foundation forming tool is comprised of an upper base and a lower base wherein the upper base is for resting upon the opposing planks comprising a foundation form well, and the lower base extends below the upper base, into the form well, for purposes of precisely and consistently defining the form well's width. The lower base can be made in 6, 8 or 10 inches in length, to conform to standard widths of foundation form wells. Additionally, this forming tool can be made to be telescoping and adjustable between these standard widths, so that one tool could accommodate a variety of forming needs. Finally, this forming tool further comprises a leveling apparatus for allowing a precise horizontal and vertical level to be achieved across a foundation form.

Abstract: A drilling unit comprises a floating drilling rig, a subsea wellhead, and a riser connecting the subsea drilling rig with the subsea wellhead. A floatation collar encircles the riser so as to reduce deck load on the floating drilling rig. The floatation collar comprises a hollow fabric body filled with gas. The floatation collar has a longitudinal axia and is formed from a sidewall body having a longitudinally extending slit extending through the sidewall body. The slit enables the floatation collar to be transversely mounted onto the marine riser.

Abstract: A device for anchoring a pipeline has a tubular lower portion formed so as to be screwed into soil and firmly retained in the soil, a tubular extension having a lower end connected with the lower portion and an upper end connectable to a rotary drive, and tether ropes extending inside the tubular lower portion and tubular extension and having lower ends connected with the lower portion and upper ends adapted to be wrapped around a pipeline and firmly connected to the pipeline, so that the pipeline is held by the tether ropes at a desired depth.

Abstract: A tunnel blasting method is disclosed. The method including the step of drilling blast holes such as cut holes, cut spreader holes, floor holes and roof holes to predetermined depths and in a predetermined hole arrangement. The blast holes are loaded with one or more detonators and explosives, stemming the blast holes with stemming materials. The detonators are detonated using a triggering device. In the hole loading step, one or more air bladders are situated in each of the blast holes so that a front free surface or one or more small free surfaces are formed. As a result, a projective area toward a free surface is enlarged and a total blast pressure is increased to increase the fragmentation rate of a rock and reduce blast vibration.

Abstract: An extended-base tension leg substructure, an offshore platform supported on the substructure and a method for supporting an offshore platform on the substructure are disclosed, where the substructure includes a plurality of support columns disposed about a central axis of the substructure and interconnected by at least one pontoon. Each column comprises an above water and submerged portion. The substructure also includes a plurality of wings or arms radiating from the columns and/or the pontoons, each wing fixedly or removably securing at least one tendon extending from a wing to an anchor on the seabed. The substructure includes an open, wave transparent central zone for improved access to well-related equipment, conduits or the like and the wings minimize translational movement and rotational flex in the substructure reducing fatigue in the tendons and their connections.

Abstract: A retaining wall block system is described. The block system includes blocks of different sizes that are configured to be compatible with each other in the construction of a retaining wall or free-standing wall. Each block has at least three faces which are textured to produce the appearance of natural stone. The faces have varying sizes based on variations in width.

Abstract: A cutting element having a cutting table made from sheet segments of commingled ultra hard material and binder. Each segment may be made from a finer or a coarser grade of ultra hard material or from different types of ultra hard material. The segments are aligned side by side over a cutting face of the cutting element to form the cutting table. The material grade and/or the material type of each segment may alternate across the cutting face.

Abstract: An apparatus for manipulating an object located proximate an underwater floor is disclosed, in a preferred embodiment comprising a foundation implantable in the underwater floor; a lifting frame extending between the foundation; and a multiplicity of slings mounted adjacent to each other and attached to the lifting frame such that each of the slings is suspended in a cradle-like configuration from the lifting frame. Each of the slings further comprises a top surface facing away from the underwater floor and a padding material mounted proximate the top surface of each sling. The foundation may further comprise suction piles. A monitoring system comprising instrumentation may also be used to aid in guiding the load transfer of the object from the floor to the lifting frame.

Abstract: A portable cart for transporting and dispensing heated pavement repair materials that is capable of being moved and operated by one person, the cart applying a heated asphaltic/polymeric binder material. The cart comprises a heating chamber having an enclosed interior and providing dry radiant heat and a containment chamber located within the enclosed interior of the heating chamber, the containment chamber narrowing towards an opening. Fuel gas is used to provide dry, radiant heat to the road repair materials to create a fluid material to apply to the surface to repair. The cart further comprises a hand-operated gating means, wherein the material within the containment chamber is gravity-dispensed in a controlled manner. The cart is ideal for repairing cracks and filling expansion channels in concrete and/or asphalt roadways and driveways.

Abstract: A buoyancy system for a deep water floating platform includes at least one buoyancy module coupled to the a riser. The module may be coupled to a ring structure of an end cap coupled to the riser, or two modules may be coupled to a ring structure to couple them together. The modules have an interior flange extending into the interior cavity and abutting the ring structure. Fasteners couple the interior flange of the module to the ring structure to form an interior attachment. A seal may be formed between the flange of the buoyancy module and the ring structure, and may include a seal member disposed in a groove. A test port extends to the groove to allow testing of the seal. The module may include a material and may have a thickness that together allow a wall of the buoyancy module to expand outwardly under an internal pressure and force the flange against the ring structure to enhance sealing between the flange and ring structure.

Abstract: A method for attaching subsea manifolds to subsea pipelines which includes attaching a tee member into the pipeline on a vessel, running the portion of the pipeline through support structures which would not pass the manifold, and to an underwater location between the vessel and the ocean floor, then attaching the manifold to the tee section, and then lowering the tee and manifold to the ocean floor.

Abstract: A system for displacing an elongate member relative to the ground. The system includes a drive rack, a support assembly, a vibratory assembly, and a drive assembly. The vibratory assembly comprises a vibratory housing defining a vibratory chamber and a vibratory axis and a vibratory system mounted within the vibratory chamber to generate a vibratory force along the vibratory axis. The drive assembly comprises a drive housing comprising a main portion defining a drive chamber and, in certain configurations, a sleeve portion defining a sleeve chamber, where a drive axis extends through the drive chamber and the sleeve chamber and a drive system mounted within the drive chamber and comprising a drive gear that rotates to generate a drive force along the drive axis. The vibratory housing is mounted onto the support assembly to reduce the transmission of vibratory forces from the vibratory housing to the support assembly.

Abstract: A drill bit for use in a borehole at least partially containing drilling fluid includes a bit body having at least two bit components, including at least one leg, the leg having a journal segment, and a roller cone rotatably mounted upon the journal segment and forming at least one bearing cavity therebetween. Also included is an annular primary seal disposed between the leg and the roller cone and an annular secondary seal disposed between the leg and the roller cone and between the annular primary seal and the borehole. An annular space is defined between the annular primary seal and the annular secondary seal, the annular space at least partially containing fluid and being in substantially absolute fluid isolation from the bearing cavity. The seals are configured to allow the passage of a fluid from the annular space to the borehole. The annular secondary seal may be primarily elastomeric and a passage for fluid from the borehole to the annular space can be included.

Abstract: A vadose zone for a leaching field which enables the construction of a leaching field in terrain where conventional leaching fields cannot be constructed. Such terrain also comprise areas where a high water table exists or where percolation tests fail. The vadose zone is constructed adjacent to the leaching field which is buried in a layer of soil which has been constructed over a nonporous barrier such as a plastic sheet or ledge or clay. The effluent from the leaching field is forced to move sideways out of the leaching field into the adjacent soil. The adjacent soil becomes a vadose zone to complete treating the effluent. The effluent is forced to flow through a prescribed predetermined distance through the vadose zone before it is permitted to disperse through the soil toward the water table or over the clay or ledge.

Abstract: A cable bolt (10) for use in mining excavations comprising a plurality of generally closely spaced wires or strands (11) which have a first end for fitting into a bore hole (21) formed in an excavation and a second end which is terminated within a cylindrical sleeve (17). The sleeve (17) has a threaded external surface for receiving a lock nut (18) which is tightened against a bearing plate (19) so as to tension the cable bolt (10). The wires or strands (11) are separated outwardly from a central longitudinal axis of the cable bolt (10) at spaced locations along the length of the cable bolt to form a “bird cage” (13) at each location. Spacers (14) are provided at each location to cause the outward separation of the wires or strands (11). A central tubular member (12) extends along the axis through the sleeve (17) and each spacer (14).

Abstract: A connecting element for sheet piles, particularly to join two sheet piles at an angle to each other, which includes hook strips (2, 3), whereby the one hook strip (2) is shaped as a knob section that consists of a head (4) and a basically straight neck (5) leading to the other hook strip, and includes an approximately rectangular channel (6), and whereby at least one additional hook strip (3) is formed as a C-shaped claw with a jaw (8), so that an approximately oval interior cavity (7) is formed.